Mountain Lion Attacks In Colorado & California Cougar Incident

Funny, I was just writing about animal attacks this week when I found this story about the cougar that entered a home in Colorado and grabbed a sleeping pet.

Wild animals are getting habituated to humans due to all the encounters and close proximity to people as we continue to encroach and trespass into their limited habitats.

Just a few weeks ago two other cougars were causing problems in Durango--including one cat that attempted to attack a boy driving a mower--the cat missed.

I've heard an interview where one of the lion dog guys (guys that track mountain lions with dogs) mentioned that many of the incidents with mountain lions involve younger animals.

Is this true? I need to find that source...but I believe it might be since younger animals leave their mom to go out on their own and then get run out of established territories by dominant animals.

Also, humans provide a lot of resources when they live in close proximity to lion country--like cougar snacks (dog, cats). Many attract wildlife by feeding prey animals near their homes and also supply water--then are surprised when the predators follow.

Is there anything you can do to avoid animal attacks?

First, if you are out in the wilderness, adjacent to it, or hear about a predator in the area--follow the suggestions put out by authorities--and find out if there is risk in the area you are visiting.

It amazes me how many people are surprised to find a bear or other animals in their yard when they feed wildlife, keep pet food and water sources just outside their doors, or place trash outside a day before pickup.

I have a screen door with an iron grid so that I can leave my door open and get air--this has proved valuable when the raccoons and coyotes use my deck. So far I haven't had any larger visitors.

Also, people need to leave wildlife alone and to be aware that most animals are highly active at dawn or dusk and at night.

A bit of common sense might help to avoid meandering into a predator at times when they are most active.

Now there is always the bad luck factor--being in the wrong place at the wrong time but using common sense and taking precautions helps mitigate that.

Today there was a poor example custom made for this post--a hiker who lacked common sense took liberties by petting a cougar cub and then got attacked by a mad mother lion. Now the protective mother cougar may loose her life over human stupidity--her three cubs may be orphaned.

If she wanted to kill the person--why didn't she? She wanted the person to leave her cubs alone--also she needs to live to take care of the small critters.

On the opposite side of the spectrum there was the woman who used her common sense and a machete to thwart off a mountain lion attack.

I've been talking about animal attacks all week over at Ark Animals but you can find my past comments on how to avoid cougar attacks here.

Where is chimpanzee Moe?

Jungle Exotics an animal training facility in Devore, California is the home to Moe an African chimpanzee who is 42 years old--at least it was his home until Friday, June 27, 2008--when the chimp escaped.

As of July 3, 2008 the chimpanzee has not been located.

Although accounts say Moe the chimp was rescued in the 1960s, it was more likely that he was purchased for a pet.

Poachers often killed (and still kill) mother animals to obtain young primates for the pet trade.

Contrary to belief, primates do not make good pets.

Today, private ownership is illegal and violates the Endangered Species Act unless you meet certain provisions and are under permit.

The general public has a misconception that chimps are amiable animals from images found in movies and television commercials--captive chimpanzees are not like that image--in fact they are highly dangerous.

Jungle Exotics is a licensed facility and another company (Amazing Animal Productions) nearby faced charges on animal abuse (Animal Legal Defense Fund vs Yost) and was banned from working with chimpanzees as part of the settlement agreement back in 2005.

Despite the fact that Moe was confiscated from the Davises' West Covina home after he mauled a police officer's hand and bit off a woman's fingertip in two 1998 incidents The UK Sun starts off incorrectly referring to the apes as "monkeys" and states,

Mr Davis’ spokesman Mike McCasland said: “He’s a very personable, sweet, nice chimp."

but in the same story reports that Jungle Exotics

"...was Moe's fourth home since authorities removed him from the Davises' West Covina home after he mauled a police officer's hand and bit off a woman's fingertip in two 1998 incidents."

The quotes come from am Associated Press Release which also appeared in the Los Angeles Times release which actually says,

"He's a very personable, sweet, nice chimp," McCasland said. "He's not going to be aggressive unless he's provoked."

Just what will provoke the chimp?

That is hard to determine. Anything could but local animal control did not think Moe would be a imminent threat.

When first asked about this I suspected that Moe would turn up at someone's home and according to this video he first showed up at the caretakers home and then turned up at a remodeling project scaring the workers.

Why authorities were not notified earlier is unknown.

Chimpanzees are omnivores and will eat meat but a coyote is more likely to have grabbed the neighbor's chicken as reported in the video--I'd want to know what animal tracks were near the fence.

Helicopters have not flushed the chimp and he has not been sighted since he first escaped.

Due to the high numbers of rattlesnakes in the area--it does not look good.

As of today, Moe the chimpanzee has been missing for just under a week.

Sightings can be reported to Animal Care and Control at (800) 472-5609.

Read more on the incident:

Whittier Daily News

Los Angeles Times: Moe the chimp part one and Moe the chimp follow up report.

CBS 2 reports Moe the chimp is missing.

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin report on Moe the chimp.

Predators in Action: Bear Attack Commentary Link

The bear attack in Big Bear is not too far away from my location. Read my commentary about Predators in Action and the Grizzly bear attack here.

Mountain Lion Attack Commentary

Locally, one of my neighbors just shared that a mountain lion was up on her roof. She lives on the edge of the forest and mistakenly went out to investigate why her dogs were going crazy.

Fortunately, the cougar took a 20 foot leap away from her and ran away. I've been thinking of carrying a firearm when I hike and this confirms that it probably would be a good idea.

Here we are seeing an increase of predators into the human populated area for a couple of reasons--the main one is that the large fires that swept through the area last fall left vast terrain uninhabitable to most of the larger wildlife.

So, the critters have relocated to adjacent areas and mountain lions, bobcats, and bears are being seen and encountered with more frequency because of it.

I've touched on this topic before but am revisiting it based on the two mountain lion attacks that have been in the news over the last week.

The first cougar attack allegedly took place in South Dakota on March 3, 2008. I dismissed it when I heard the preliminary reports but now I've taken a look at the photo of Ryan Hughes and the two tooth marks on his face--it could have been a younger, inexperienced cougar.

I spoke to a reporter yesterday and then took some time to review the cougar attack accounts I've been ignoring. Currently the attack was not confirmed by officials. I believe this is for a few reasons.

First, it would be the first documented cougar attack on a human in South Dakota history (at least we think it would be), then there is a bit of concern because of the alcohol content found in the blood of Ryan Hughes, and finally the investigative team that went out with lion dogs (these are dogs that specifically track mountain lions) did not pick up the scent.

Usually there will be some sort of sign or scent left in the area. Pug marks (mountain lion tracks), fur, scat, and in this case--Hughes reported that the cougar had a kill in its mouth (red fox). I would expect to hear of an area where the kill took place.

So unanswered questions are: Were there any signs of a cat in the area? Did Hughes really surprise the cougar? If so, was the cougar defending its prey--and did it pick the prey back up? Was it a different type of animal instead of a mountain lion? And why would Hughes make up the attack?

People often mistake smaller predators for larger ones. In fact, here in California people have mistaken house cats for cougars and reported bobcats as mountain lions. However, Hughes did describe an irritated tail twitch. As of yesterday, the South Dakota cougar attack is still unconfirmed and under investigation by wildlife officials.

The lesson to be learned here is that you should have someone with you when out in the wilderness. I already gave you some mountain lion safety tips and encourage you to review them if you travel out into the wilderness or live in areas adjacent to wild lands.

Next, a rabid mountain lion attempted an attack on 10-year-old Paul Schalow. The family was celebrating Paul's birthday on Saturday when the older female cougar launched her attack. You can catch the interview video about the cougar attack encounter here.

Cougar attacks are not so rare as they once were. However the risk to humans is pretty low in comparison to other animal injuries and attacks--check out this older Bureau of Labor Statistics page.

Finally, I have not updated my statistics on cougar attacks in a while (2004) but if you are looking for more info, links, and books related to the topic drop by.

Homeless Pets & the Mortgage Crisis: More Links

So, I guess my little rant was well timed. Here are a couple of other links if you are thinking about a related story about homeless and abandoned pets from the mortgage crisis.
NBC Video on Homeless Pets & the Mortgage Crisis

Foreclosure Pet Crisis Article

Homeless Pets: Innocent Victims of Foreclosures & Housing Market

I just read an article in the Sacramento Bee about homeless pets as innocent victims of the California housing market. Wow, where have they been?

In September of 2007 the Press Enterprise took a look at local shelters and humane societies who were seeing the trend of increased numbers of relinquished animals and the speculation was that the homeless pet increase was due to the mortgage crisis hitting San Bernardino and other parts of California.

Everybody has reported it--but what are they doing about it?

What can you do about it if you lose your home?

One thing to do is to prepare a pet resume. What is a pet resume? It is a document you present to potential landlords with a summary of a companion animal's best qualities and that also highlights your qualities as a good tenant and pet owners.

Pet resumes should include an appealing picture of your pet, state the animal's age, activity level, breed or pedigree, good behaviors, participation in training, and the standards of care he or she receives.

Get letters of recommendation from your pet's trainer, groomer, activity groups, kennel or pet sitter. It wouldn't hurt to also get letters from your immediate neighbors stating how your pet is a great canine or feline citizen and neighbor.

As for you, obtain letters of recommendation from past landlords and your realtor about your qualities as a home owner, tenant--and ask your community pals to write notes about how you are a good pet owning neighbor.

In addition, more and more pet friendly rental databases are popping up on the web. Try searching:

People with Pets
Move dot com

You can access my audio on pet resumes here or on iTunes under Ark Animal Answers.

Elmendorf, Alaska Wolf Pack Troubles

Here is a link to the CNN Video on the two women who were surrounded by a wolf pack while walking their dogs. The wolves were known to be an issue in the area so why did they venture out anyway?

This report from Fort Rich talks about several incidents with the same wolf pack.

As wild animals become more habituated to humans and we continue to squeeze them into smaller and smaller territories, continue to build within wildlife habitat, such events will continue to increase.

Here is an interesting summary on wolf attacks, I am not familiar with the author.

In response to the recent attacks on dogs and then the women with the dogs, the area has been restricted to entry due to the Elmendorf wolf pack incidents.

On a side note, urban coyotes make snacks out of pets regularly.

Incident Logs & Other Questions

The report from the San Francisco Chronicle makes me wonder how often the zoo actually has emergency drills.

Another question crossed my desk yesterday, what were three guys of that age doing at the zoo on Christmas day? Isn't that unusual--wouldn't they be hanging out with their buddies or people of their own age group?

Perhaps they were wildlife enthusiasts--but I doubt it.

Zoos across the nation are being asked about their safety practices and are reassuring the public. However, accidents do happen and so drills and training are essential.

The other issue that keeps getting raised is that regarding the zoo employee actions. First, only trained personnel can handle fire arms and tranquilizers. Second, tranquilizers do not work fast enough to safely contain a predator when there is danger to humans or other animals.

I am a bit shocked that it looks like the Security department delayed entry to the municipal rescue agencies--did they not have a mutual aid agreement in place? Were the rest of the non-animal employees left out of the disaster planning review drills?

Yes, there is only speculation over the taunting of the Siberian tiger , however the animal would have needed high motivation to climb out of her enclosure.

I get sick of visitor behavior at animal parks and zoos--maybe Tatiana will be the new poster tiger for "Don't Disturb the Animals."

BTW: Did anyone get their mitts on the Dhaliwal or Sousa cell phones to see if anyone was video taping or snapping pictures?

Sources for Tiger Jumping Distances

Okay, in my library I found in Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Volume 12, Page 349 (copyright 1972) that tigers have been found to jump down up to 10 meters (32.8 feet) with the average of 5-6 meter jumps (16-19.7 feet).

In Walker's Mammals of the World, Fifth Edition, the citation in Volume II on page 1209 says, "It (tiger species) has been reported to cover up to 10 meters in a horizontal leap."

Based on these citations, it would have been completely feasible for Tatiana, the San Francisco Zoo's Siberian tiger to have jumped out of her enclosure.

Big Cat Jumps

I thought this video might be of interest to you

Also, I found this citation but have no idea who the person is who has quoted the distances. Still looking for sources I can verify. According to Maxine Anbabell, there have been instances recorded of tigers leaping widths of as much as twenty feet, with one tiger seen to leap thirty feet.